The Girl Who Lived
by Swagnarok
Summary: In the aftermath of the crisis that sent shockwaves across the local community, everyone must adapt to change. Elena comes to a decision concerning Akemi's fate. The Professor receives a threat to his life. Episodes 1025-1026.
1. Chapter 1

_He was unfortunate enough to have experienced it all himself:_

 _One moment, he was seeing a little girl through that person's eyes. The girl who that person seemed to care so much about._

 _The next, he was being grabbed from behind._

 _And then his head hit the ground hard._

 _A rush of adrenaline, as Shiho Miyano got on top of him, about to finish him for good._

 _"Ayumi-chan, cover your ears and don't look!" that woman barked to the girl._

 _And then, resignation to what was likely inevitable and which, in any case, that person was no longer willing to fight. Not with that girl in the room. A sense of serenity. A very brief final reflection upon the life that that person got the chance to live._

 _And then, he could feel that person's lips moving, his vocal cords spelling out the last words that he was ever going to say._

 _"You cannot...stop...what he has already set into motion."_

 _He was able to experience that person's last thoughts. A plea, to him:_

 _Vindicate me. Don't let this part of me go to waste. Don't let me forget her...Do what you promised me. I place my trust wholly in you._

 _And then:_

 _His eyes shot open. He began convulsing violently in his chair, hyperventilating, his heart pumping way too fast for somebody his age. His heart monitor was going ballistic. He was half-worried that he might die of shock right then and there, or that he might accidentally yank out the plug that powered the equipment keeping him alive._

 _And then, he regained his composure._

 _What a gruesome...hideous sensation, he thought, his eyes watery._

 _It was one that he hadn't experienced in a long, long time. Like the essence of a human being was ripped out of its body by some unthinking, sadistic, brutal force of nature. Maybe he could've bailed out earlier than he did, so that he wouldn't have had to go through that all over again. But he didn't, because he owed at least that much to the man who'd been so faithful to him and the cause, that he should be with him in his final moments._

 _Something wet began to stream down his face. There was a lump in his throat._

 _That even one person should have to die...it tore him up inside. He was getting tired of this, and he desperately hoped that the big payoff of his life's work was just around the corner._

 _He dreamed of a world where nobody had to die, no matter what might happen to whatever mortal body they inhabited at the time. A world where the worst of enemies could reach a common ground, through common experience and understanding...where the best of friends never had to part ways but instead might, at the most, have to say goodbye for a little while. A fairy tale world, many would say with derision._

 _But he believed in that dream still. Even after all this time, as ancient as he was, in spite of everything that he had seen, in spite of everything that he had done. He believed still that man was but a fool rather than a scoundrel. And a fool could be taught, if not shown._

 _This body of his was weak. Very weak. His condition had deteriorated very rapidly in the course of the past year. He could hardly make an audible sound, save the kind of pathetic wheeze that his nurses had the nerve to refer to as 'breathing'._

 _...Where were they anyway? he wondered. Just now. When I was flailing about in the chair like a heart attack victim._

 _In any case, he recognized Shigeo Yasuda's death for the tragedy that it was. Whether or not that he was able to give that man something to live for that was good enough to justify cutting his life short, he did not know. He did not want to pry into something like that, especially when he knew that Yasuda would've been cognizant of what he was looking for. In any case, emotions do fluctuate from time to time, so there might not have been a definitive answer for him._

 _However, he knew of the circumstances that Yasuda came from, where the man was emotionally and even physically at the time that the two of them first met. That he was at that time able to remove Yasuda from the precipice of irreversible self-destruction was a comfort to him now, though it wasn't quite enough to answer his question._

 _Shigeo-kun, he thought, you were a good man. And yes, I will do as I have said. However much strength I have left should be...sufficient. Yes._

 **Opening**

(Angel Night by Psy-S, an opening to City Hunter, performed here by Garnet Crow)

(To act decisively is a prerequisite to victory! Seize the day or die trying! The Miyano family must arrive at a fateful decision! Akemi's life hangs in the balance! Perceiving the one and only truth! With the body of a child but the mind of an adult, my name is DETECTIVE CONAN!)

 _I_ _rumine shon mashita ni mioroshi_

 _Yoru wo nobotte ku ESCALATOR_

 _Kooritsuita BIRU no tanima wo_

 _HEADLIGHT no kawa ga nagareru_

 _Saisho ni suki ni natta no wa koe_

 _Sore kara senaka to totonoerareta yubisuki_

 _Tokidoki damarigachi ni naru kuse_

 _Dokoka e itte shimau kokoro to MELODY_

 _ANGEL VOICE na wo yonde mimi sumasu ECHO_

 _SHINING SMILE kaze ni chiru hanabira to KISS_

 _ANGEL VOICE atarashii natsukashii ECHO_

 _SHINING SMILE isogazu ni ari no mama KISS_

 **The Girl Who Lived! Part One!**

Holding bags of groceries, Conan and Nancy crossed the street.

"Really," Conan complained. "They're inviting us over but we had to buy and bring over half the ingredients."

"Yeah, well, the Professor's had to cook for five people these past three weeks," Nancy said. "I imagine his pantry's running rather low."

Three weeks ago, the hostage crisis at Teitan Elementary came to a close. Shortly after the last three hostages came out, the police stormed the building to find the remains of two unidentified people splattered all over the cafeteria, along with numerous bullet holes in the walls and ceiling. Additionally, the cafeteria was on fire and so the fire department had to step in.

Cognizant that a bomb had gone off inside, and of the threat that more remained to be found, the police ordered that the school be closed, a decision which virtually all the parents involved agreed was appropriate. Subaru Okiya, calling from an anonymous number, informed the police that he was the party who set the bombs in the first place, patiently explaining to them why he did it (he said that he had wind in advance of the hostage-takers' plot). He helped the police find and remove all 59 remaining bombs, and then afterwards he assured them that there were no more and the school was safe to re-open.

Still, the police were not satisfied, because in the principle's office they found two large canisters of what was later identified as gaseous carfentanil. Enough to kill hundreds, if not thousands, of people, and certainly children. As a result, a hazmat team was called in to search every square inch of the place for dangerous substances.

On top of that, there was the matter of interviewing the hostages to piece together the details of what happened. A number of families affected simply packed their bags and fled Tokyo in the aftermath of the crisis, so tracking down everyone was quite difficult. Additionally, it was somewhat unclear which students were not present that day and which were: at least one student who was reported absent that day was seen leaving the building at the crisis's conclusion. As of so far, none of the hostage-takers who the police captured were willing to talk. Backgrounds checks on them revealed shockingly little, in many cases.

Finally, there was the matter of repairing the cafeteria, as well as the other parts of the school where shots had been fired. All things considered, that they managed to re-open in just three weeks was a borderline miracle.

Of course, during that time all of the Teitan elementary students were home-bound. So Mitsuhiko, Genta, Ayumi, Conan/Nancy, and Haibara had seen very little of each other for the past three weeks. Today marked the first time since then that they'd all be hanging out again. It was a date that none of them were willing to miss. A Sunday afternoon, the day before their lives were scheduled to make a sharp return to normalcy.

Or at least, that was the government's hope.

Conan and Nancy knew that Haibara had done something unthinkable, and Ayumi watched it happen. As for who was affected worse they did not yet know.

I guess we'll find out today, Conan thought.

And so they went on their way. They'd gone to a store, had to give up some amount of money that, quite simply, they could afford to part with, and then walked out with a bunch of food. This was a viable option 24 hours a day, every day of a year. Japan was, for all intents and purposes, a post-scarcity society.

Of course, it was not always this way.

 **Scene Transition**

 _Not only did she have to contend with a crying kid, and not only was she stuck carrying a sack of food for the next three miles, but she also dreaded the scolding that she knew would entail._

 _Yesterday, she'd been lying on her side in the living room flipping through the pages of an old French fashion magazine, admiring the mature beauties in all of their 1930s "glory"._ _And then, her aunt had walked in, berating her for being such a lazy child, and then giving her instructions: take the sowing kit from the dresser in the master bedroom_ (or whatever equivalent of such existed in this part of the world at this time) _,_ _and find somebody in this city of 350,000 people who was willing to trade it for at least one pound of rice flour. As her little brother Takahide was too young to by alone by himself unsupervised, she had to take him with her._

 _Who knows, her aunt reasoned, maybe seeing him will buy you a little extra sympathy._

 _That was doubtful, of course. Food was scarce, especially for city-dwellers such as themselves._

 _They didn't find anybody willing to make the trade yesterday; fearing their aunt's wrath, Akihime found them a half-decent place to fall asleep and then they tried again early in the morning. As it turned out, just a little while ago they finally had some luck, and they were now on their way home with what they came for._

 _"Hide-kun, just a little longer," she said._

 _"But I'm hungry," he sniffled. "I had no food for days!"_

 _She nodded. "We're all hungry. These are hard times for everyone. But I've got some food right here. When we get home your nice aunt can cook us up something yummy. How about that?"_

 _They'd passed by a clock tower a little while earlier. The time then was 8:00. So now it was maybe about a quarter past then. The day now was..._

 _Hmm, what day is it again? Akihime thought._

 _She knew August had started a little while ago. But she'd lost track of the day of the week, or of the month._

 _As a matter of fact, it was August 6._

 _A few minutes ago she'd faintly heard the sound of what was probably a plane overhead. But she didn't see anything up in the sky, so..._

 _Maybe it was one of ours? she thought._

 _There didn't seem to be any need to take cover right now, and in any case Akihime just wanted to get back home as soon as possible._

 _An automobile passed them by. And then another._

 _She sighed. If only they had a car they wouldn't have to go through this trouble._

 _But as for the stressing ordeal that began yesterday, they were almost finished, or at least for the-_

*BLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM*

 _It all happened so fast. Like in but the blink of an eye. Had a bomb dropped near them?_

 _Whatever it was, Akihime sprang into action._

 _She looked at her little brother, dropped what she was holding, and-_

 _She slammed him to the ground and covered him with her body, cradling him as his only protector, forcing him against a wall._

 _And then she was engulfed in flames._

 _She was seven years old, but a few weeks shy of her eighth birthday, living in the city of Hiroshima._

 **Scene Transition**

"Ah! There you are!"

At the time that they came up to the door Mitsuhiko, Ayumi, and Genta were already waiting for them.

Now that they were all here, they could go inside.

Ayumi knocked on the door.

A few seconds later, Haibara opened it.

"Finally," she said. "You all been standing out here like a bunch of morons."

They entered. Conan and Nancy put their groceries on the kitchen table.

"...Alright, I'll get this started," Conan said. "How've you guys been holding up?"

Mitsuhiko nodded. "Good. It's been nice having this much free time, though it's getting sort of boring by now."

"Same," Genta said. "Not getting to see my friends sucked."

Nancy turned to Ayumi. "How about you, Ayumi-chan?"

Ayumi blinked. "Umm...I don't get it."

"Huh?"

"Why did school close?" Ayumi asked. "Why did the police want to talk to me? Why have my mom and dad been acting so weird? Did something...happen?"

There was an awkward pause.

"...Ayumi-chan, you don't remember?" Genta asked. "Any of it? F-For real?!"

"You guys can wait out here," Conan said. "The Professor, Haibara-san, Nancy and I will prepare the meal."

 **Scene Transition**

They were making nikujaga. Conan was assigned to peel and chop potatoes. All the while, they were listening in on the chatter coming from the other room.

"Haibara, I know this was your doing," Conan said. "What did you do?"

"Ayumi-chan saw my adult self kill a man," Haibara explained. "If she were to have told the police about that, then...well, you know. That would've confined me to this identity for the rest of my life. I'd never be able to go back, or else face arrest. So I made Ayumi-chan forget altogether."

Conan forcefully grabbed her by the shoulders. "And how exactly did you accomplish that, huh?! Don't tell me that you-

"Yeah," she said without hesitation, shaking free. "I paid her a visit, as my older self, late at night. I cuddled her in my lap, read her a bedtime story, and then gave her a glass of warm milk laced with rat poison. I let her lose consciousness, waited about an hour, and then administered the Elixir to her. Well, in any case I gave her a free doctor's visit, for all intents and purposes. She came out of it alright, so nobody has any reason to complain."

Besides, she thought, no child should have to live remembering something like that. I gave her innocence back to her...to the extent that's possible for somebody hanging around the likes of us.

"You could've consulted me first, you know!" Conan protested. "She would've been dead for a period, after all!"

"Sure, then both of us would have to feel guilty about that," Haibara retorted. "You already got enough on your own plate, if you ask me...Ran, _Hakase_ , you're the only ones now. The only ones whose consciences are clean. Must feel pretty good, huh..."

N-No, the Professor thought, thinking back to his final conversation with Vermouth. My conscience definitely isn't clean.

"At least tell us how far back you erased," Nancy said.

"Well, let's see...I did it about a week afterwards, so...she should still remember Hong Kong, if that's what you're wondering. But not much else after that."

" _Oi_ , how are we supposed to explain something like this to them?!" Conan protested. "Mitsuhiko and Genta are at their wits' end right now trying to make heads or tails of the situation, I'm sure!"

"Repressed memories," Haibara said. "It's that simple. What happened to Ayumi-chan was so traumatic, apparently, that it caused her to just clam up and forget all of it. That's what we'll tell them. And that's what we'll tell her."

She turned to Conan. "You were there when it happened. I'm leaving it up to you to explain what happened."

"H-HUUH?!"

"Not so loud," the Professor hissed, looking anxiously at the doorway.

"Don't worry about it," Haibara said. "I've come up with a cover story for you. Speaking of, what did you tell the police when they visited you?"

"Oh, that? Nothing."

"Huh?"

"We refused to speak to them," Nancy said. "They chalked it up to us being scared little kids, so they left rather quickly after that. I'm sure they've gotten that a lot of that at this point, interviewing as many kids as they have, but in any case they should only need a few witnesses to piece together what happened, more or less."

The olive oil and the diced onions at the bottom of the metal pot began to sizzle.

 **Scene Transition**

It wasn't a very hard transition.

Despite herself, she'd usually ended up working while at the villa in Shikoku. In her office away from home (or so to speak), on the second floor, sitting at her large wooden desk, a sliding door with curtains opening up to the balcony behind her. As though she was the boss of a large company, because for all intents and purposes she was. There was always something that needed her approval, a stack of papers for her to go through.

She was tempted to open the door behind her and let in some cool air, but she didn't want to risk anything blowing away.

These past three weeks she, her husband, and her son had been living with Shiho and her semi-elderly caretaker, that Professor, since their normal place of residence had been blown to smithereens. It was a messy arrangement that they all got kind of tired of after a short while (as Satoshi and his private tutor took up the dining room half of the time and nobody wanted to disturb them), but it was one that they had to put up with until Elena could convince Jirokichi Suzuki to let them relocate to the villa.

The old man was upset that one of his family's company's top pieces of real estate had been demolished without his consent or prior knowledge, and so he was thinking of pulling the plug on his cooperation with them altogether. Atsushi had to go meet with him and convince him otherwise. Finally Jirokichi reluctantly agreed, and the Professor was obviously glad to have the house to himself and Ai-kun again when Elena's people started coming by to help them move out.

But at first it was pretty great. They had some long, deep discussions as a family, played a few board games even. At times they almost seemed like a normal family.

Among the discussions that they had concerned the gaping elephant in the room: Akemi's body.

Haibara and Satoshi, apparently after having discussed it together, came to the conclusion that Akemi should be revived at present. The way they reasoned was thus: Ran and Higo, though being of little practical value to the cause alive, were at present living persons thanks to the power of the ELXR-0666, because the lives of both were things that Kudo-kun demanded. Additionally, Haibara had been permitted to remain alive and roam free even though her capture would pose a substantial threat to the cause.

In all of these cases, the continued status as "living organism" was considered to be an acceptable risk because the apotoxin allowed for their identities to be obscured. With that in mind, the risks for Akemi could be considered acceptably low if the same was administered to her upon her revival. One dosage would revert her to roughly her mid-teens, and a false identity could be assigned to her.

Admittedly, Akemi's revival would not benefit the cause and would doubtlessly come with some risks. However, Elena and Atsushi's line of work was so incredibly dangerous that they might feasibly not live long enough to see a time when Akemi's revival was an entirely risk-free affair. That applied to Satoshi and Haibara as well.

And as a mother, Elena thought, there are things which regular cost-benefit analyses cannot decide for me.

They all came to a consensus, about something which, looking back now, it seemed like they should've done a long time ago. They were going to try to revive Akemi, even though she'd been dead for about a year and a half.

There was, however, a certain obstacle that had to be cleared first. In that regard, Elena was waiting for a very important phone call. Once this matter was cleared up, then they could proceed. That matter being, of course, the possibility of their daughter's person having been assumed by an Antichrist.

*RIIIIING*

Startled, she answered:

"Um, yes, Elena-san? I'm calling to confirm the test results."

Elena nodded. "Continue."

"Let's see...it says here that it's a negative for all of the five markers you told me to look for."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Elena said:

"Yes, thank you. That's very good news. Was there anything else?"

"Was there supposed to be something else?"

"No. Goodbye."

She hung up and then ran out of the room and down the marble staircase, a kind of joyful expression on her face that her husband hadn't seen in years.

"It's a go!" she declared.

Excited, Atsushi picked up his wife and spun her around.

They ran into the other room, where Akemi's body laid in repose, an IV drip through her veins (or whatever of such still existed).

Having been dead for as long as she was, her body was not a pretty sight. And yet Daizu- _sensei_ had been by his prospective patient's side since last night. He stood up when they came in.

By the way that they were looking at him, he could tell what they wanted him to do.

"Due to the length of decomposition time, we're going to need an extra large dose," he said. "My recommendation would be a series of injections."

Atsushi nodded. "Do it, doctor. Bring our daughter back to us."

"How long will this take?" Elena asked.

Daizu yawned. "I don't know. Based on the available data I'd have to say a couple of hours, probably. The most uncertain part will be her brain, her memories, her personality. But based on the reports I've gotten, all prior patients made a full recovery with the entirety of their personalities intact, so I don't see why she'd be any different."

"Remember though," he said, "she's been dead for a very long time. It is possible that something won't turn out the way you hoped. Don't be surprised in that case."

"At this point, we'll take whatever we can get, doctor," Elena said, holding her husband's hand.

"In that case, let's get started."

 **Scene Transition**

They were all sitting at the table.

"...Anyways, that's just my theory," Haibara said.

"Huh," Mitsuhiko said. "If what you're saying is true, then that's pretty awesome."

"I wish the rest of us could be that lucky," Genta muttered.

"I-I'm sorry," Ayumi said bashfully. "Even after you guys having told me what happened, I just plain can't remember any of it at all."

Conan smiled and shook his head. "You have nothing to apologize for, Ayumi-chan. I think we're the ones who should be sorry, in fact: we've been trying to make you remember something as terrible as that. You're a very lucky girl to have forgotten, I think, and nobody should want to take that away from you. Some things in this world just aren't worth remembering, but usually we don't have a choice in that one way or another."

"By the way, where's Shiro-kun?" Nancy asked, eager to change the subject. "I'm guessing he couldn't be here today?"

"Oh, he's taking the entrance exam to St. Procopius Academy," Conan said.

"Saint what?" Genta repeated.

"Oh, is that like one of those catholic girls' schools from those shows on TV?" Mitsuhiko asked. "I mean, obviously it isn't an all-girls' school if he's applying, but-

Conan nodded. "It's a denominational all-boys' school, as a matter of fact, catering to the educational needs of students grades elementary to high school. It's not too far from here, though I'm sure you don't know anybody who goes there. And it's Eastern Orthodox, not Catholic."

"Huh?"

"Eastern Orthodox," Haibara explained. "One of the three major branches of Christianity. Primarily found in Russia and Eastern Europe, and historically in Turkey. Well, Russia's eastern frontier is close enough to Japan that there is an Orthodox presence in this country, though it's a very small community. On first glance, Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism are very similar, but there are some key differences that it can be difficult for outsiders to the faith like ourselves to understand."

"Not sure if I understood any of that," Genta said.

"It's a Christian all-boys school not far from here," Conan said. "That's all you need to know."

"But why's he switching schools?" Ayumi asked.

Mitsuhiko was about to answer that, but Conan gave him a look and shook his head.

Mitsuhiko was silent.

"There are some people who're after him," Conan said. "That's why he came here in the first place: to escape them. But the big incident three weeks ago made it clear that now they know where he is, so he has to move. He can still hang out with all of us, just not at school."

The three Detective Boys, of course, would probably never come to realize and appreciate the role that Conan played in this: he spent the past three weeks working with Elena to convince the Black Organization that Shiro was a mere decoy used by the FBI to bait them, on account of the boy's striking resemblance to Higo's younger self. And as far as he knew, the ploy worked. But Elena still decided to take the precaution of having Shiro enroll elsewhere, though at Haibara's pleading he was allowed to remain in the area and continue to associate with the friends that he had made these past couple of months.

"That's strange, though," Genta said. "After we got out of the building I could've sworn that I saw Shiro standing out there by all those peop... "

He paused, trying to recall something. And then:

"WUUAAAAHH!" he screamed in horror, his face turning red as a stoplight.

"Huh? Is something the matter?" Conan asked.

"G-Genta-kun, don't say anything else!" Haibara barked, also redfaced, realizing what Genta must've seen then.

"What is it?" Mitsuhiko asked. "You say Shiro was there? I mean, I guess he might've worked up the courage to come to the scene and wait outside for his-

"SHIRO-KUN AND HAIBARA-SAN WERE KISSING!" Genta blurted out.

"HHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHH?!" Haibara shrieked, feeling super embarrassed, like somebody had seen her naked or something.

"Genta-kun, why would you reveal something like that?! You're the worst!" Ayumi said, though deep down this was a juicy piece of gossip that she was glad to have heard.

And with that, they all turned to Conan, expecting him to start bursting out laughing.

"...Why are you all looking at me like that?" Conan asked. "I'm fine with it. They have a lot in common, and they seem like they're a good match for each other. Congratulations, Haibara."

He raised his glass to her.

" _Oi_ , you make it sound like we're gonna get hitched soon or something weird like that," Haibara griped. "It was just a one time thing."

"Yeah, yeah," Nancy said, to Haibara's chagrin.

Conan smiled.

Congratulations, Haibara, he thought. You've finally moved on. And I think Higo-san's somebody you can trust. You'll be happy together, I'm sure.

"Hold on a second," Mitsuhiko said. "Conan, didn't you tell me that Haibara was skipping school that day? How did she-"

"I went to the nurse's office early on because I was feeling bad," Haibara lied. "I slept through most of what happened. I was woken to the shrill sound of kids screaming and that lunatic woman going on and on about a bomb."

"Well, whoever she is we owe her our thanks," Mitsuhiko said.

After they ate, they played some games on an old N64 that the Professor was able to buy for a song from a pawn shop and then they played some soccer in the front yard.

 **Scene Transition**

 _"Alright, I'm off."_

 _"Bye. I love you."_

 _They kissed and Shigeo Yasuda, considerably younger at this time and much better groomed and dressed, headed out the door with his suitcase._

 _He took the commute to work via the subway, as he always did._

 _"Hey," the man at the front desk greeted him as he passed by._

 _"Hey."_

 _He flashed his clearance badge and entered the testing area._

 _He was a part of the company's ongoing project to develop the next generation of workout supplements. And for that, they had assembled both a treatment group and a control group from a random survey of 100 college students. He'd already gotten to know some of the subjects, all of whom were keen either to build muscle or at least to make three hundred thousand yen, or both. But mainly he was involved behind the scenes doing the math to ensure that everything checked out before they began administering anything to anyone, so as to avoid major adverse effects._

 _Usually, he was up there about 10 hours a day, and it paid well enough that he and his wife were optimistic about one day paying off the mortgage on their house. Their future looked bright. If only they could finally have a child things would be just about perfect._

 _But today, something was different. About twenty minutes into the work day his boss tapped him on the shoulder._

 _Yasuda stood up straight (from bending over to veer at the readings on the small computer) and faced the man. "Yes?"  
_

 _"I'd like to see you in my office."_

 _"Huh? Did I do something wrong?"_

 _"Just come with me, please. Right now."_

 **Scene Transition**

 _"Have a seat."_

 _Yasuda sat down._

 _"As you're aware, there've been some glaring discrepancies between your team's projections and actual outcomes as of late," his boss said. "So I took the liberty of having Sonozaki-san from the department over come and review your work. Last night she spotted an error that you made six weeks ago, which has thrown off all the team's work since. We're going to have to start all over from that point."_

 _Yasuda blinked. "Say what? I did...I did what? I, um, gosh...uhh, I'm not sure what to say to that, except-_

 _"We're letting you go, effective immediately."_

 _"Excuse me?"_

 _"I'm sorry to have to say this, and I have nothing against you as a person. You've been with this company for three years now, and most of your work since you started has been exemplary. If not for this, I would consider you to be one of our finest employees. But your blunder has cost us six weeks of expenditures and set back the ultimate release date of that product. I need not impress upon you the magnitude of this transgression. And now we don't know whether we can trust you not to make a similar mistake in the future. You're fired."_

 _"But-_

 _"The decision is final. Pack your things and be out of here within the hour."_

 **Scene Transition**

 _What am I going to tell her? he thought._

 _He inserted the PIN number and the door unlocked. He opened it and stepped inside._

 _"Honey?" he called out. "Something happened at work. We need to talk."_

 _He was not looking forward to the conversation that he thought he was about to hold with his wife._

 _She wasn't in the kitchen, or the living room._

 _He went into their bedroom, and:_

 _She was lying in bed, clad in a nightgown, though it was still in the morning and though she'd already changed into day clothes before he left for work earlier._

 _Yasuda sighed. "I was laid off today."_

 _"What? Why?"_

 _"Apparently I made a mistake a while back which is really damaging to the company now," he said. "I goofed with some numbers, apparently. Not entirely sure about the details. But it was pretty serious. So they fired me for it today."_

 _"Huh...well, I'm sure you'll find something else."_

 _"That's it? You're not upset at all?"_

 _"Upset? Nah. But I think we should definitely discuss this later."_

 _"Later?"_

 _"Are you hungry?" she asked. "You didn't get to eat anything this morning, right? Go wait in the kitchen, give me a minute to get dressed, and then I'll make you something to eat."_

 _"Why are you wearing that anyways?"_

 _She shrugged. "It's comfortable."_

 _"Comfortable? I've never seen you wearing that in the day bef-_

 _"Why are you getting on my case, huh? You're the one who just got fired, right? Why don't you just go wait quietly in the kitchen like I asked you to?"_

 _What the heck is this, Yasuda thought. Nothing about this is right at all._

 _"...Is somebody else here?" he asked._

 _"Huh? N-No! Why would you even th-_

 _*yaaaaaaawwwwwnn*_

 _It came from under the bed._

 _"Shiori-chan, you're such a terrible liar," a woman's voice said. "Why don't you just tell him the truth already?"_

 _She emerged from under the bed and stood up, also wearing a nightgown, her hair disheveled._

 _Shigeo started to hyperventilate. His heart was racing like crazy,_

 _"W-WHAT IS THIS?!" he demanded, beginning to feel hot._

 _His wife sighed. "I guess this is as good a time as any to tell you. I like women. I only married you because my parents expected me to find a husband. But I can't be untrue to myself any longer. I'm leaving you, Shigeo."_

 _He shook his head._

 _No, he thought. It can't be happening this sudden, right? All this time she was lying to me? Every time that she said she loved me...and she's going to leave me...just like this?_

 _He fell to his knees, staring a thousand feet ahead_ (metaphorically speaking) _as his wife and her female lover brushed past him._

 **Scene Transition**

She'd been expecting a call/message earlier in the day. The fact that it hadn't come yet: did that mean something had gone terribly wrong?

It was getting late. She'd tried watching TV, but her sense of nervousness was just too great for her to sit still or to pay attention. She ended up pacing the house, though she was sure that she was keeping the Professor up with her antics.

Fresh air, she thought at last. That's what I need.

She went to the panel on the wall, entered the PIN, and deactivated the alarm. Then she opened the door and stepped outside.

She was sparsely able to take three steps when-

*brrrrrph*

Her hand raced to pluck her phone from her pocket.

It was a two-word message:

"She's awake."

 **Scene Transition**

 **The Next Day**

"At this time the Middle East as we know it today was dominated by two great empires, the Eastern Romans and the Persians. They were hated each other because they practiced different religions, in a time when many countries thought religious matters were important enough to go to war over. In the early 600s they fought a war against each other that lasted an entire generation. When the war was over, both empires were exhausted, and they were too weak to fight back against the rising power to the south, from the Arabian Peninsula, the forces of..."

As Kobayashi-sensei droned on, Mitsuhiko looked around the classroom.

A lot of people are missing, he noted.

Indeed: a large number of parents had pulled their children out of Teitan Elementary, the first straw being the recent murder of a music teacher on the school grounds and this recent hostage crisis being the last straw.

"In the year 610, he was a successful businessman who was also very religious. One day he headed up to a mountain to pray, and it is believed by Muslims today that while there he encountered the archangel Gabriel..."

 **Scene Transition**

"So how was your first day back?" Nancy asked.

"Awful!" Ayumi exploded. "Maria-chan's gone!"

"She must've been among those whose parents pulled them out," Conan said. "Well, her parents have an extra reason to be wary of this school."

(Author's Note: He is referencing Maria's kidnapping during "Valkyrie's Mission".)

"And to make things worse," she said, "I can't find Yasuda-san anywhere! I haven't seen him since I don't even remember when! He doesn't answer his phone when I try calling him!"

"Ayumi-chan, I think you should probably forget about Yasuda-san," Conan said.

"Huh?" Genta said. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Conan sighed. "This information hasn't been made public yet, so don't repeat a word of this to anybody, but...Yasuda-san was among those killed during the incident three weeks ago."

Ayumi dropped her fork. "W...What?"

Sensing that this was the appropriate time for such, Nancy stood up, walking around the table, and gave a visibly shocked Ayumi a hug from behind.

"It's going to be okay," Nancy whispered.

What on earth are we doing, Conan thought. We haven't shielded Ayumi-chan from anything: rather, we're just making her relive that trauma all over again. Maybe I shouldn't have told her that? But what else could I have said, other than-

*brrrrrrph*

Conan looked at his phone.

It was a text from Dr. Agasa. It read:

"Come to my house after school. I need your help with something urgent."

He put his phone back in his pocket.

"What was that?" Mitsuhiko asked.

Conan shook his head. "Nothing for you to worry about."

"Huuh? Why would you say it like that?" Genta said.

"Now we just have to know what it is!" Mitsuhiko said.

"The Professor wants my help with something," Conan said. "I'm not sure what it is yet, but he wants me to come over after school."

"Then we're coming with you!" Mitsuhiko said.

"Yeah!" Genta parroted.

"...Count me out," Ayumi said, looking down, Nancy still trying to console her. "I don't feel like doing anything today."

Conan nodded. "We understand completely, Ayumi-chan. Come back to us whenever you're feeling good and ready."

 **Scene Transition**

They were sitting in the Professor's living room.

"So what do you need our help for?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"Um, well..."

Dr. Agasa motioned for Conan to come closer, and then whispered to him:

" _Oi_ , why'd you bring them for this? I don't think this is kid appropriate."

"I couldn't stop them from coming even if I wanted to," Conan said.

The Professor sighed. "Alright then. To all of you, the truth is..."

...

...

...

"HHHEEEEEEHHH?!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed. " _Hakase_ , somebody threatened you?!"

 **Ending**

(In the Storm of my Mind by Sayuri)

On that day they trekked to the mouth of the great river

Leading the procession, the elder donning black vestments

His wrinkled face, an old, sad story etched into its creases

With a thousand yard stare, he uttered the old utterances

"Take to heart, ye of few days, what you have witnessed!"

His words carried no weight as we played quietly in the back

The years passed, and our style of play grew more refined

Anywhere, anytime, you were the only company I needed

But watching you gasp for air was a sudden slap in the face

It was from then that I could hear the crescendo of the bells

Trapped in the storm of my mind none can hear me scream

I know our bodies shall be threshed at the foot of the altar

And our ashes sprinkled on the lips of the grinning demon

This happy dream is naught but the vapors of a dying flame

I want to cherish these moments always, but I am reminded

The strongest among us must yield to the turning of the hour

Its ticking, like nails on a chalkboard, like cascading thunder

The stroke of midnight shall do us apart, forever and ever.


	2. Chapter 2

_These past couple of weeks he had a lot of time to think. With the death of the man who'd been his eyes and ears for so long, he had little else to do but to think._

 _His greatest asset had always been his mind. Even whenever he was strapped to medical equipment in a crudely decorated hospital room, unable to move, or confined to a concrete box underground, left with nothing but to pace the room or to curl into a ball and sleep, his mind allowed him to remain connected to persons and places outside his immediate surroundings. Through his absolutely amazing mind he was able to attain, and was most comfortable with, a level of intimacy that most people would normally shy away from._ _Perhaps that was the reason he had so few friends during his life._

 _And it was a long life. All things considered, he was certain that it could've been a considerably longer one had he not spent years and years on end making use of his abilities. But then again, would that have even been a life worth living? He knew that there were billions and billions of people who lived their whole lives scarce able to understand a perspective besides their own, capable only of speculation and observation from the outside. Many of these were able to find happiness._

 _But that was because they had not tasted. He did. And so he couldn't imagine being one of them. This world was vast. It was deep and wide. There were oceans of passion, of hate, of fear and uncertainty, of curiosity, of satisfaction, of pain, of sadness...and of bonds stronger than the ordinary altruistic limits of human beings would seem to permit. He went swimming in these oceans, while everyone else was just splashing in puddles, barely scratching the surface of reality. There was nobody in this world who could fathom ultimate truth except him, because that would first require a foundation of experience that only he had. There were brief moments when, in his vanity, he fancied himself a god. But he was always quick to rebuke himself._

 _He could step inside the innermost recesses of another person's mind. But to intrude to such an extent would surely leave his presence exposed. And they would see fit to try to chase him out. Regardless of whether they actually could or couldn't_ _, he usually left when they wanted him gone. Because he respected the dignity of other people, mundanes or not. Because he knew that he did not belong there._

 _There was once a place where he knew he belonged. A place where he could skirt the boundary between his own existence and that of the other person's, to the point where there were times when he wasn't sure which of the two he was. That person had shared her life with him willingly. She invited him in, and he was never the same. From then on he had a home, the point where the two souls met._

 _For everything that he was capable of, it meant nothing to him if he was never able to return home. And that was the question: would he have the strength to bring back his home from the cold and buried ashes? She had been waiting for him fifty years now...how much longer would it take him to end this? He'd laid so much groundwork...but was it enough?_

 _He knew that his body was giving out. He didn't have much time left._

 _I'm not going to let it end like this, he vowed. Not now, not like this...!_

 _His mouth was dry as a fresh rag. His throat hurt when he tried to talk._

 _But he had to say it...one more time. He knew that the next time he spoke it would be as somebody else._

 _But all he could manage was:_

 _*cough cough COUGH COUGH*_

 _And that was it. That was the limit of his body's strength._

 _Tired...He felt so tired._

 _Soon after, Nobutaro fell into a deep sleep. Three days later, the nurses pulled the plug on his comatose shell. Per his instructions, his body was immediately cremated and his ashes scattered into the Pacific Ocean._

 **Opening**

(Angel Night by Psy-S, an opening to City Hunter, performed here by Garnet Crow)

(To act decisively is a prerequisite to victory! Seize the day or die trying! The Miyano family must arrive at a fateful decision! Akemi's life hangs in the balance! Perceiving the one and only truth! With the body of a child but the mind of an adult, my name is DETECTIVE CONAN!)

 _I_ _rumine shon mashita ni mioroshi_

 _Yoru wo nobotte ku ESCALATOR_

 _Kooritsuita BIRU no tanima wo_

 _HEADLIGHT no kawa ga nagareru_

 _Saisho ni suki ni natta no wa koe_

 _Sore kara senaka to totonoerareta yubisuki_

 _Tokidoki damarigachi ni naru kuse_

 _Dokoka e itte shimau kokoro to MELODY_

 _ANGEL VOICE na wo yonde mimi sumasu ECHO_

 _SHINING SMILE kaze ni chiru hanabira to KISS_

 _ANGEL VOICE atarashii natsukashii ECHO_

 _SHINING SMILE isogazu ni ari no mama KISS_

 **The Girl Who Lived! Part Two!**

They were sitting in the Professor's living room.

"So what do you need our help for?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"Um, well..."

Dr. Agasa motioned for Conan to come closer, and then whispered to him:

"Oi, why'd you bring them for this? I don't think this is kid appropriate."

"I couldn't stop them from coming even if I wanted to," Conan said.

The Professor sighed. "Alright then. To all of you, the truth is..."

...

...

...

"HHHEEEEEEHHH?!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed. "Hakase, somebody threatened you?!"

The Professor nodded, a little embarrassed.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Conan asked.

"Better yet, why don't you show us?"

It was Shiro, who entered after having overheard the conversation from an adjacent room.

"Shiro-kun?" Nancy wondered. "What are you doing here? Did the Professor call you too?"

"N-No, I live here now."

There was a pause.

"Hey now, Haibara-san really didn't tell you?" Shiro complained. "Jodie-sensei got tired of having to care for me, so I'm _Hakase_ 's problem now."

Another pause.

"Let me guess, one of you guys saw us exchange that kiss," Shiro surmised.

"Y-Yeah..." Mitsuhiko said sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it," Shiro said nonchalantly. "It was a one-time thing. And I'm sure the Professor will make sure we don't behave inappropriately. Isn't that right, _Hakase_?"

"W-Why are you laying something like that on me?!" the Professor protested.

That was enough to elicit some chuckles.

"But for real, this is the first I heard about somebody threatening you," Shiro said. "You said it was online? Why don't you show us a chat log or something so we understand the situation?"

 **Scene Transition**

Two and a half weeks ago, the Professor made the decision to register an account on an online community of amateur robotics enthusiasts. He had plans to turn the power brace into a full-blown power suit, and for that he joined both to receive technical input on what was sure to be a Herculean project and to brag just a tiny bit. His username was:

"thefreshgrind?" Conan read. "What the heck, Professor? That sounds like something from a gay hookup site."

"S-Sorry," he said. "I've tried hitting the gym lately, so..."

The trouble started on a thread titled "FIRST Jam Slam Championship Commentary".

It went like this:

 _thefreshgrind_ : The bots operate on 2.4 GHz or 5GHz, right?

 _hold_my_beer_ : Yeah, as do drones and a lot of of the tech you use everyday. Since they're all using those same frequencies, it's like throwing a canister of poison gas inside a locked room, while you're still inside.

 _thefreshgrind_ : Couldn't they fall back on an older frequency?

 _hold_my_beer_ : They could, but some of these bots are equipped to jam all sorts of different signals. All they have to do is find the one their enemy's weak against and keep it on there. I think we're all a little disappointed by the way it turned out this year: none of the teams devised good countermeasures against each other.

 _Zeitgeist99_ : This year was a disaster, no doubt. I'm sure turnout will suffer next year, and in years after that unless they learn from this little fiasco. I had the privilege of competing in the STEAMWORKS game as a part of Team 5701, and it was nothing like the dumpster fire we're witnessing now.

That was where the conversation ended several months ago. But then, six days ago a new post was made to that thread:

 _enigma_man_ : Zeitgeist99 ur full of crap

 _thefreshgrind_ : enigma_man How rude. Nobody appreciates being talked to like that.

 _enigma_man_ : shut up troll no one lyks u

And that was the beginning of a series of bitter exchanges across various threads that ensued in the days that followed. Finally, the situation escalated dramatically last night whenever, in response to being angrily reprimanded by the Professor, that person made the following post:

 _enigma_man_ : fuq u do u now who I am I used to be a solder in the army i fought 4 my country and killed 100 enemy solders with my bear hands ur fuqin nothing to me I was the best in my unite and I have lots of metals in my closet to prove it ur less then scum u will not get away with taking bad to me I will ask my friends in the CIA to find were u live and I will kill u I won't stab u or shoot u or choke u that would b 2 easy no I will kill u with a attack helicopter be ready 4 my furry u little peace of crap I will show no mercy hahahaha

"...So what do you think?" Dr. Agasa asked, feeling very uneasy.

"Well, obviously he can't hurt you in the manner described," Conan said. "But he does sound very angry. Depending on how mentally unstable this person is...still, if you're really that worried, why don't you just apologize?"

"I considered that," Dr. Agasa said. "But after that last thing he said, the mods closed his account. If he's ex-military I don't want to remain on his bad side."

"So let me get this straight," Shiro said. "You want us to help you find out who he is in real life so you can go to him and apologize?"

"Yeah. Pretty much."

"Hmm, that's going to be pretty hard though, huh?" Genta noted. "It's not like he gives an address on his profile page, right?"

"But we do know that he lives in the area," Conan said.

"Huh?"

"Look, right here," Conan said, pointing to a section on the person's profile page which listed his place of residence as being in Beika ward, Tokyo, Japan.

"This website is a Japanese language community," Conan said. "And well over a quarter of this country's population lives in the Tokyo metropolitan area, so that shouldn't be too terribly surprising."

"Then there's only one thing to do," Mitsuhiko said. "Go through his post history to see if he's given any more hints about where he lives."

And with that, it was settled.

 **Scene Transition**

Just as I was. As she would've remembered me.

That's what Shiho was going for. Akemi was waiting for her on the beach, staring out at the sea on this cool, cloudy, windy day.

Once she finished getting dressed, went out the garage door, and stepped out onto the sand, the fact of the meeting would be set in stone, for all intents and purposes. There were so many things she wanted to say to her big sister.

Unfortunately, it would not be the kind of reunion that Shiho was hoping for.

From a fairly young age, Shiho was ripped from the arms of her family and flung into the clutches of the Men in Black. Showing little regard for her freedom to choose her own destiny as a human being, they saw in her only the potential that she inherited from her mother and father. They spent a couple of years preparing her, developing her mind so that she could work competently on the formation of a highly complex synthetic compound:

Apotoxin 4869. Groundwork for the project was laid by her parents, who extracted viral tissue from the Altar Organ of an Antichrist specimen before she was born. Elena and Atsushi Miyano at that time were young, ambitious scientists hoping to find from within the Organization's unprecedented genetic and biological resources a cure for all physiological ailments.

By their research they were able to make a certain discovery: that there were two types of DNA, functional and inert. Inert was the very original DNA present within a zygote, as it was when it had yet to replicate. Or, rather, it was an exact copy of such, stored within human bone marrow, encased in a protective coating and incapable of replication under natural conditions; as a result, human beings had yet to evolve to the point where the body could make practical use of inert DNA for self-regeneration. That was, the presence of inert DNA in an anatomically modern, already-born human marked him or her as being a transitional organism, between the type which existed until several tens of thousands of years ago which lacked inert DNA altogether and a prospective future type which would be, in theory, immortal.

The Apotoxin was intended as a stepping stone between a product with no effect and the Elixir, which was capable of biological rejuvenation/revival. It was an attempt at a lesser achievement that would pave the way for the greater achievement, which was to use the Elixir to interact with the inert DNA and result in mass replication of a "model", ideal bodily form as specified by the original genetic material, thus correcting anything that fell outside of this ideal, including injuries and death.

(Author's Note: This has become one giant convoluted mess. I can't think of anything to explain how the Apotoxin might be a stepping stone to the Elixir. Just go with it here.)

Shiho, along with Yasuda, were able to complete development of the Apotoxin, and they were a few months into the development of the Elixir whenever her sister's sudden disappearance prompted Shiho to defy her masters, at long last. And for good reason: Shiho had very little in terms of outside interaction outside of her sister's infrequent visits. She had no friends to speak of. Just Akemi, who taught her about fashion magazines, and how to give her hair colorful highlights, and how to be polite, and took her out to the movies and karaoke, and so much more. It wasn't a stretch to say that Shiho would have little in terms of a personality if not for Akemi. Akemi was always there for her. It was because of the influence that Akemi had on her that Shiho had the courage in the first place to flee the Organization instead of passively going to the slaughter like a clueless sheep.

It was hard this past year and a half, having to live without ever seeing her sister, for much of that time assuming that she never could again. The fact that so many wonderful people came into her life, people who cared about her, made the situation more than bearable but she knew that nobody could truly replace Akemi.

All the while, she never realized what it must've been like being Akemi. Her older sister was privileged enough to have minimal contact with the Organization (up until the weeks prior to her death), but she must've felt powerless knowing there was nothing she could do to get Shiho out of there. Caring that much for so many years must've been painful. And yet she slogged through it, for the sake of family, for the sake of a little girl who couldn't help herself.

The thing Shiho really wanted to say to Akemi was "Thank you so, so much". Because Akemi well deserved to be told this, and Shiho was sure that she was just one in a long line of people who would be eternally grateful to her. But she especially could not thank her enough, because she'd laid down her life for Shiho.

But towards the Akemi that was now, this compliment would only be met with confusion. Because at this time Akemi did not even remember her own name.

Daizu- _sensei_ explained it away as being a consequence of her having been dead for so long, as there was still a lot they didn't know about the Elixir's effects; since the dosage used to revive her was so substantial already, another round of treatment probably would not be enough to restore her memories. The only hope, the good doctor reasoned, was that her memories were merely repressed somewhere within her subconscious, and that they might resurface gradually. In either event, he recommended that they gently re-expose her to the facets of her former life.

All the thank yous that Shiho could give would fall far short if, in Akemi's hour of need, she were to do nothing to try to help. So here she was.

Initially wanting to go for a long white dress, she realized she'd be better suited for something that suggested "ordinary girl", which was of course how she tried to present herself whenever she and Akemi went out. So she'd put on a casual outfit, and now she was stepping outside.

She came within eight feet of Akemi, clad in a v-neck green knit sweater and a white skirt, who was staring out at the waves, which crashed against the rocks sticking out of the waters. Her long hair was flapping in the wind.

Akemi turned her head and faced her younger sister, and then Shiho's heart began to melt:

In appearance, she was exactly like the Akemi who Shiho had to say her last goodbyes to long ago. The Elixir really was unlike anything else known to humanity. It was almost as though Akemi being shot, and then her corpse deteriorating for a year and a half, never happened. She was as good as new. Healthy as a horse. Ready to interact with living persons as a living person.

Shiho took a step back. And then another.

Akemi, though having no recollection of her little sister, was obviously concerned for her in that moment, and she took some steps forward.

There wasn't just a lump in Shiho's throat; rather, there was something pushing up, and it was like traces of water were coming up into her mouth. Her vision became cloudy, as warm stuff filled her eyes. She looked down, continuing to step back when she sensed that Akemi was coming closer than she could handle.

And then she misstepped, and fell onto her behind, landing on the exceptionally soft, dark sand adjacent to the tide.

And with that, Akemi rushed toward her, dropped to her knees, and embraced her tightly.

And then, the most visceral, primal, inhuman sounds began to emanate from Shiho's vocal cords, a high-pitched, hysterical wail.

"I'm here," Akemi said, a soft whisper, stroking Shiho's hair and neck. "And I won't leave you again."

And once again, even as Akemi was suffering amnesia, she was the one who was there for Shiho.

From a distance, two people were looking on from inside an idling vehicle.

"...Are you going to go down there?" Jodie asked, not very happy.

"There wouldn't be much of a point," Shuichi Akai said, currently not wearing his usual disguise. "What we had once has been washed away with her memories. Well, if she should ever remember me then that'd be different, but...The last time we were together it got her killed. I don't want to coerce her into a relationship just because that's what the old her would've wanted. She's got to decide anew, based solely on what the present her wants. I have no right to make any sort of special claim here. Maybe I'll talk to her soon...But for now I'm content to watch from the sidelines."

Why don't you just give up on her already, she thought. I'm right here, and willing.

He observed for a few more seconds. And then he put the car in reverse and they drove off.

 **Scene Transition**

 **The Next Day**

It took them quite a while to do the amount of fieldwork necessary to definitively confirm their suspicions. But now here they were, going up to the door, having narrowed it down to a single address.

Lucky for them, enigma_man provided a number of key hints as to his real-life identity over the course of his post history, however short it may have been.

Ironically, when his account was first registered just four weeks prior he seemed like an entirely different person: he seemed polite and well-spoken, in sharp contrast to his later activity on the site.

In his early posts he confirmed that he was a veteran, having served for a few years in the JGSDF, and then in the JGSDF Reserves, working as an artilleryman. More puzzling, however, was his later claim to have seen combat, considering that Japan had not been a participant in overseas military engagements since WWII (with a small exception occurring during the Iraq War, though the unit in question had a strictly humanitarian purpose and it is doubtful that they would've been equipped with artillery pieces).

They found a clue in a thread titled "What's on Your Mind?", in one of his earlier posts. It read:

 _enigma_man_ : Elevator's out of order, the ever-absent landlord's gonna put off fixing it until next Thursday, and now I'm having to go up and down 7 flights of stairs every day. Even the army couldn't have prepared me for this. :0

By this they were able to determine that he lived in an apartment or condominium complex with a minimum of 8 stories in height, which served to cut down the number of possible locales by a good bit.

Unfortunately, they wouldn't be getting another hint quite that immediately telling.

Or, at least, none of them but Conan. enigma_man did, during his earlier period of activity, post a picture of his pet cat, posed majestically on the floor near an unshuttered window in his bedroom. The picture was taken from shortly behind the door leading to the bedroom. From that picture Conan was able to determine a few things:

From the context of the post, it was a picture taken perhaps five minutes prior to its uploading on the site, which was recorded as being early in the day. And indeed, the shadow that the feline cast on the floor was quite large; as a general rule, one's shadow is largest in the morning. The sun could be seen shining from outside the window; since it was early in the day, that meant his bedroom faced east (from the doorway to the wall).

This meant that enigma_man's apartment was not on the west part of the building; additionally it could not have been on the north or south part unless it was on either the northeastern or southeastern corner. Conan ruled this possibility out simply for the sake of simplicity, because it wasn't very likely and because for the time being he needed a little something extra to go by.

In one of his later posts enigma_man said to the Professor:

"omg ur so annoying ur like 1 of those big boys with a radio who plays loud music late at night in parking lot I can here them from my window ur more annoying then they r"

So with that, the specifications were as following: it was a residential building of at least 8 stories in height; with the aid of a compass they would find that the building had a parking lot to its east, and it was somewhere in Beika. On the eighth floor the person they were looking for was a veteran, most probably male; those types usually had a certain look to them, so if knocking around didn't eventually lead them to the right room number then they could just ask somebody there.

*knock knock*

Dr. Agasa gulped.

"I hope he isn't still mad at _hakase_ ," Genta whispered.

"W-Well, we don't know for a fact that we have the right address," Mitsuhiko said.

And then, the doorknob turned. A young boy, maybe 10 or a little younger, opened it.

He stared at the guests, confused.

Then his dad came up to the door from behind him.

"Yes?" the man, clearly ex-military (was muscular, had a military haircut, etc), asked.

Here's to hoping the Professor doesn't get his a*s kicked in front of all us, Conan thought with a deadpan look. Well, I got my stun-gun on hand if things get too out of control, so...

"A-Are you the one they call...enigma man?" the Professor asked, trying to hide his nervousness.

"Huh?" the man responded. "enigma...Oh, that was my screen name on that one site. Right. The robotics forum? Are you from there?"

"I am," the Professor said.

"That's cool, guess there was somebody living in my area," the man, Mizuho Itsukushima (age 32), said. "But I didn't think I'd left such an impression that somebody from there would want to meet me in real life."

And then, the middle-aged fat man bowed to him, ready to face his punishment.

" _Sumimasen_!" the Professor said.

"Huh? What's that for?"

"I'm thefreshgrind."

"Who?"

The Professor blinked. "You know...the guy who you threatened?"

"Thr...huh? What?...No, I didn't do anything like that. Not on that site. Didn't stay long enough to get sucked into drama with anybody. And I like to think I wouldn't lose my cool over something on the internet, certainly not to the point where I issued a death threat or something. I'm not that kind of person, after all."

As the grown-ups talked, the boy (Kayo Itsukushima, age 10) just stared at the kids who had accompanied this strange man to his house.

Shiro waved politely, and Kayo waved back.

And then:

"Kayo! What did you do?"

 **Scene Transition**

 _*clank*_

 _"Ayumi-chan, are you sure you don't want to come with us today?" Mitsuhiko asked. "We're going to find the Professor's bully."_

 _"No thanks," Ayumi said._

 _After a moment's hesitation:_

 _"Okay then," Conan said. "Come on, let's go."_

 _As with yesterday, Ayumi had spent much of today alone already. She needed some time to herself, after having learned that thing:_

 _Yasuda-san was really dead? Just like that? One day they were both doing great, and then the next he just went and died?_

 _*clank*_

 _She set her shoes down inside the locker when-_

 _Huh, that's strange, she thought._

 _What was a letter doing inside her locker? Who was it from?_

 _Maybe Conan-kun and the others? she thought. To cheer me up? Maybe from Ai-chan?_

 _It had no sender on the envelope, so she had no way of knowing but to open it and read it._

 _She tore open the back, opened it up, and took it out. And it read:_

 _"Hey kid,_

 _It's me. One way or another, after today we're not gonna see each other again. My job brought me here, but soon my job's gonna be ending. And then I won't be able to come back here. I'm sorry that it has to be that way. And I'm sure you are too. Lately you and me have been spending a lot of time together. I'm sure most people think it's weird, or even suspicious, that we're friends. Well, let them think that. Whatever they want. The important thing is, you tried to help me out when you saw that I was in a bind. The truth is, I knew you were coming on that day. I set things up so that we'd have the chance to meet, though I can't quite explain it to you. I expected and wanted you to give me a job at this school, and I also can't explain the reason for that either. You proved exactly the kindhearted girl who I anticipated meeting. So thank you, for making all this possible. I can't explain what "this" is, but just know that everything I do I do with a bigger purpose behind it._

 _I know I'm saying a lot of things that don't make any sense. Maybe one day you'll be able to understand the full truth behind what I'm saying. Maybe we'll meet again eventually and I'll be able to tell you everything that you don't already know by then. I'm working toward a brighter future, so that everyone can have the kind of experience that I had._

 _Remember how I told you about that girl, Akihime? I told you that she was my daughter. But that's not actually true. Akihime was a dream that I had once. I dreamed of being her, if I can explain it to you that way. In that dream, I as Akihime did something extraordinary. Maybe that wasn't me as I am now. But once upon a time, in some state of mind, I was willing to lay down my life for somebody else. And I didn't remember that at all, for the longest time, for so many years._

 _I needed to remember that, because a long time ago I was struggling with feelings of worthlessness and meaninglessness. Or to put it in a way that you'd understand, I was feeling very sad, because I never did anything important. At the lowest point of it I wanted to kill myself, a horrible state of mind that I hope you'll never have to experience in a thousand lifetimes. I was about to do it for real, but then a very nice man reached out to me and helped me remember that dream I had. When I remembered, I understood that I was not worthless. In that dream I had, because I died my little brother was able to live, and he enjoyed a long life and ultimately had kids of his own. Seven of them. Crazy, right?_

 _I got to know all of them. All of my nephews and nieces, who I never knew existed. They got to live because I as Akihime chose to die. And that's how I knew that my life was not for nothing. That's an experience I want everybody to have. You too, Ayumi-chan. When I dreamt that I was Akihime, I looked just like you. I was a lot like you. You're just a kid now, but I was so happy that I got to meet you, whatever your age. I wish you a long life after I'm gone, because Akihime never got to enjoy a long life. Live for all three of us, because I might have to die again soon._

 _Anyways, I hate to put all of this on you. Depressing stuff to read, I'm sure. But this is how I feel. I want to be as honest with you as circumstances will permit, because you're one of the few real friends I've had in this short, pathetic life of mine. Or at least, one of the few who didn't stab me in the back sooner or later. Maybe this will mean more to you when you're older. But for now, I have two last things that I need to ask of you: First, please do not talk about or show this letter to anybody. Not for a couple of years, at least. Keep this a secret between you and me. Second, I'd like you to keep up collecting the recyclables, as we've done together and as I showed you how. If you feel more comfortable that way, then get an adult to help you. I certainly wouldn't want you getting hurt. But you have the potential to help a lot of people, and as a result enjoy not merely a single moment of being extraordinary but rather an entire life lived as such, as a hero. How far you can go with this depends on you; don't let anybody tell you that there's nothing you can do to help. Because there's always something for everybody._

 _Well, that's about all I had to say. I'm sorry for bailing on such short notice without so much as a proper goodbye. And I'm sorry for the many not so nice things I've done, which I'm sure you'll find out about later, even though in the grand scheme of things they were one hundred percent justified. Remember to study hard, get plenty of sleep at night, and wash behind your ears. Classic advice for any generation. Alright, I'm done. Peace out."_

 _Signed, Shigeo Yasuda._

 **Scene Transition**

Kayo winced, waiting for his dad to explode as he scrolled through his account's post history on that website.

"What...what the H*LL is this?!" his dad (Mizuho) exclaimed, his eyes glued to the screen for the old desktop. "I didn't write any of this nonsense! Mizuho, it was you, wasn't it?...And, what is this? Kayo, where'd you even learn that word?! I don't use that word at home, I'm pretty sure!"

"N-No pops, I wouldn't say mean things on the in-

And then his dad pulled his ear, to his chagrin.

"We'll discuss your punishment later," his dad said. "Go to your room. Now."

Thankful that the full consequences for his actions would be delayed somewhat and yet dreading what would come later that evening when his mom got home, Kayo reluctantly went to his room.

"I'm so, so sorry," Mizuho said apologetically. "I'll make sure that the little punk gets what's coming to him."

"I-It's fine," the Professor said, starting to feel a little sorry for the boy now. "Don't be too hard on him. I'm sure he didn't know any better."

"Nonsense. Doesn't matter what age you are, anybody should know that's not the way you treat other people. At the very least, we're gonna take away his video games and internet privileges for a week, no, a month. And maybe I should crack down on this violent video games from now on. I'm sure that has something to do with it."

He sighed. "So, since you came all this way would you like some coffee?"

 **Scene Transition**

He put some water in the machine and then something began to boil. About forty five seconds later, coffee was pouring into the white ceramic cup.

He stirred the brew, which was sweetened with stevia and half-and-half, and handed the cup to the Professor, who was sitting in the kitchen with Conan, Nancy, Shiro, and the Detective Boys.

Just looking at the guy, he was hardcore. He even had a heart tattoo on his arm.

"...So," the Professor asked, still not entirely trusting of this guy's intentions. "It's just you and your son living here?"

"Nah, I'm just the partner who stays at home, while my wife brings home the bacon," Mizuho said, having a seat.

"You're a stay at home dad?" Genta asked. "But I always thought those men were sissies."

"Genta-kun!" Nancy scolded.

"What? I was paying him a compliment," Genta said. "He's not like that at all."

Mizuho shrugged. "Eh. Whatever. Yeah, it's true. My wife makes more than I ever could, and one of us has to stay home during the day, so that person being me was just the practical way to do things. I'm not insecure in my masculinity. I used to be, right after finishing my last year of high school. So I joined the army to prove I was a real macho man. Big mistake, because half the guys in there were either gay or closeted transsexuals. Some of them got wind about my past and tried to proposition me one time. Had to report their behavior just to get them off my back, because they kept bugging me, even though they knew I was married."

"Umm, what's this about your last year of high school?" Mitsuhiko asked, curious. "Did something happen then?"

"Eh, I'm not sure I really want to go into detail about that," Mizuho said, sipping his coffee. "I wasn't exactly the most boyish kid then, to put it lightly. Just looking at my yearbook photo from back then is like taking some crazy-*ss strong shrooms. The way that I looked back then, I'm not sure how it was even physically possible. Way different from how I look now, that's for sure. Must've been magic or something. Met some good people that year, my future wife included. Made some friends. But I'd never want to go back to those days, because those were just about the weirdest and roughest eight months of my life. Left me all messed up inside, and confused about what kind of person I was. Even thought I might've been, *ahem* one of those people. Surrounded by pretty girls all that time and yet I never once so much as had a bon-

Recalling that he was talking to a bunch of kids, he stopped himself.

"A-Anyways, that's why I cut my hair, put on something decent for a change, and then headed to the nearest recruiting station the day after they handed me my high school diploma, though it was a couple of months before I was actually able to get in. I needed it, for the sake of my own confidence and self-esteem. But at the same time it was a mistake because I never went to college or whatnot. Meanwhile, my wife went into business administration and now she's slated to take over her old man's big conglomerate any day now. Yup, things'll be pretty sweet then. So ya know what, stay at home dad or whatever the h*ll I'm happy right where I am. Because money can smooth over just about anything. Yesiree..."

About thirty minutes later, they and the Professor decided it was about time to leave.

"Alright, you kids feel free to come over and visit any time," Mizuho greeted them off. "Just ask your parents first."

They stepped into the elevator and Mitsuhiko pushed the button for the lobby.

"Huh, so he actually turned out to be pretty nice," Shiro said.

"Yeah, even though I couldn't understand half of what he was talking about," Dr. Agasa said. "But there was one thing that bothered me. Kids, listen to me: I know you heard him say some not very nice things about certain groups of people, particularly men who like other men. Please don't go around repeating talk like that, because all kinds of people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, regardless of whether you find their lifestyle choices odd or even disagreeable. For all you know many of your classmates could turn out to be like that one day, so don't be quick to judge."

"Yes sir," Mitsuhiko, Genta, Conan, Nancy, and Shiro said.

"Also, don't use bad words like he did," Shiro was obliged to chime in. "Or like the ones you saw Kayo-kun post on the internet."

And then, his phone buzzed. He took it out and read the text that he got.

It was from Haibara. It read:

"It's settled. The arrangement we talked about was approved by my parents. Tell the Professor."

 **Ending**

(In the Storm of my Mind by Sayuri)

On that day they trekked to the mouth of the great river

Leading the procession, the elder donning black vestments

His wrinkled face, an old, sad story etched into its creases

With a thousand yard stare, he uttered the old utterances

"Take to heart, ye of few days, what you have witnessed!"

His words carried no weight as we played quietly in the back

The years passed, and our style of play grew more refined

Anywhere, anytime, you were the only company I needed

But watching you gasp for air was a sudden slap in the face

It was from then that I could hear the crescendo of the bells

Trapped in the storm of my mind none can hear me scream

I know our bodies shall be threshed at the foot of the altar

And our ashes sprinkled on the lips of the grinning demon

This happy dream is naught but the vapors of a dying flame

I want to cherish these moments always, but I am reminded

The strongest among us must yield to the turning of the hour

Its ticking, like nails on a chalkboard, like cascading thunder

The stroke of midnight shall do us apart, forever and ever.

 **Post-Ending**

The bathroom at the Professor's house. Small and cozy, a fuzzy mat laid out on the floor.

A long vertical mirror on the door inside.

Akemi took a good, long look at herself, clad in the blue uniform for female students at Teitan High School. De-aged 10 years, about ready to grab her backpack and be on her way.

"...I'm sorry," she said, a bare whisper, to nobody in particular.

There was a knock.

" _Oi_ , you almost done in there?" Shiro's voice asked. "I need to brush my teeth."

Regaining her composure, Akemi unlocked the door and opened it, and then stepped out.

"Hey, before you do that, how about you have some breakfast?"

Shiro, likewise clad in the uniform for his new school, shook his head. "I don't know if I'll have time to-

"Nonsense, if you try to learn on an empty stomach then you won't do as well at it."

"But I already kn-

"Eat," she scolded in a maternal way.

She walked into the kitchen, where the American-style quiche was probably done baking by now.

She grabbed the oven mitts, pulled down the oven door, and took the sizzling hot pan out. She set it onto the kitchen counter. Fanning the steam in a borderline superstitious attempt to help it cool down faster, she opened a drawer and took out one of those long plastic things with which to serve slices of pie.

She took some plates out of the top cabinet and served a piece to all four of them. She set Haibara's piece down at her place.

"Do you want a glass of milk to go with that?"

Haibara, instead of answering, was lost in thought.

She really does look a lot like Ran-san did, Haibara thought. No wonder, then...

"Shiho?"

"Huh?"

"Do you want some milk?"

"Y-Yeah..."

Akemi poured her sister a glass, and then the Professor sat down at his place.

"Yum," he said. "Does this have bacon in it?"

"Nope, I'm trying to go the healthy route with this," Akemi said. "The eggs should be meat enough."

Shiro likewise came in and sat down.

"A small piece, please," he said.

"Coming right up."

Shiro turned to Haibara and smiled.

Life shouldn't be this good, he thought. We cheated to get here, more or less. But who cares, right? However it got to be like this, let's make the most out of every day we've got.

Soon after, they all went their separate ways for the morning. Haibara went to Teitan Elementary, Akemi to Teitan High, Shiro to St. Procopius Academy, and the Professor to a seminar where he was being paid to speak. But the four of them knew that at the end of the day they'd all reunite within these walls, as a unit which at the least superficially resembled a family.

From here on out, it would be a lot less quiet at the Agasa Residence. And that was just the way he liked it.

 **The End**


End file.
